Pune police have registered an FIR against 15 named individuals and other participants over an MPSC student protest that allegedly obstructed traffic on Shastri Road in Navi Peth on October 1. The case was registered by Vishrambaug police at 12.36 am on October 9 after the gathering outside Indulal Complex allegedly continued despite police directions to disperse.
The complaint was lodged by police head constable Sameer Jayaram Pawar. The individuals named include student representatives Pramod Patil, Akshay Kamble and Aniket Deshmane, along with 12 others. The FIR alleges that the protesters assembled without fresh permission, violated prohibitory orders and disrupted traffic and public order in the surrounding area.
According to the complaint, student representatives had approached the Pune police commissioner’s office on September 25 seeking permission to hold a protest on October 2. They proposed Alka Talkies Chowk, Ahilya Abhyasika and S. M. Joshi Bridge as possible locations before seeking approval for the bridge location.
Police granted conditional permission on September 26. The complaint states that a student delegation subsequently met the Maharashtra chief minister in Mumbai on September 30. Following what the complaint described as positive discussions and acceptance of the students’ demands, the representatives informed police in writing that the October 2 protest had been put on hold.
Police then informed the representatives that the earlier permission stood cancelled. However, the complaint alleges that students assembled outside Indulal Complex at around 4 pm on October 1 without obtaining fresh permission. Participants allegedly raised slogans against the Maharashtra Public Service Commission and the state government, while several named individuals addressed the gathering.
The police alleged that the gathering obstructed the public road and caused substantial traffic congestion in the area. The complaint further states that the senior police inspector repeatedly told participants that the gathering was unlawful and directed them to leave, but the protest continued.
The FIR cites prohibitory orders applicable within the Pune police commissionerate, including an order covering the period from September 29 to October 12. It also refers to restrictions on demonstrations at specified locations. The case has been registered under Sections 189(2), 189(3), 189(5), 126(2), 223, 270 and 292 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951.
The sections cited include provisions relating to unlawful assemblies, disobedience of orders, obstruction and public nuisance. Registration of the FIR records the allegations and begins the investigation; it does not establish guilt against the accused.
Inspector Vikas Prakash Bhingardive has been assigned the investigation. The case places the protest within the broader administrative framework governing public gatherings, traffic movement and police permissions in Pune, with the investigation now expected to examine the circumstances of the assembly and the alleged road obstruction.
